Machine for the ballasting of railroad tracks

ABSTRACT

A machine for maintaining railroad tracks through the conveying of ballast from the roadbed on either side toward and into the track. The machine is adapted to ride on the track, and includes a pair of ballast brushes mounted on supporting arms which project outwardly on opposite sides of the track. The support arms are pivotally mounted on the machine for movement about vertical and horizontal axes and are telescopically extensible to obtain the desired arm reach with respect to the roadbed. The brushes are mounted on frames which tilt adjustably relative to the support arm and are driven by variable speed hydraulic motors.

United States Patent Bucksch et a1.

[54] MACHINE FOR THE BALLASTING OF RAILROAD TRACKS [72] Inventors: Herbert Bucksch, Ruskau; Helmut Koch, Rhine, both of Germany [73] Assignee: Rheiner Maschinenfabrik Windhofi Akt.-Ges., Rheine, Germany 22] Filed: Sept. 14, 1970 21 Appl. No.: 71,898.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data I Oct. 20, 1969 Germany ..P 19 52 715.2

[52] U.S. C1. ..37/105, 15/54, 104/279 [51] Int. Cl ..Eo2t 5/22, EOlb 27/02 [58] Field of Search .15/54, 55; 104/279, 12; 37/104, 105

56] References Cited v UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,550,979 5/1951 Donahue ..104/279 2,777,220 1/1957 Bates ..15/55 3,533,121 10/1970 Kershaw ..l04/279 1,150,462 8/1915 Slowe ....l5/55 3,004,273 10/1961 Rushmer ....15/55 3,426,697 2/1969 Stewart 104/1 2 3,589,296 6/1971 Plasser et al ..104/12 Primary Examiner-Drayton E. Hoffman Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Bertsch Attorney-Merchant & Gould [57] ABSTRACT I A machine for maintaining railroad tracks through the conveying ofballast from the roadbed on either side towardv and into the track. The machineis adapted to ride on the track, and includes a pair of ballast brushes mounted on supporting arms which project outwardly on opposite sides of the track. The support arms are pivotally mounted on the machine for movement about vertical and horizontal axes and are telescopically extensible to obtain the desired arm reach with respect to the roadbed. The brushes are mounted on frames which tilt adjustably relative to the support arm and are driven by variable speed hydraulic motors.

7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEU HEB 19 I972 SHEET 1 or 2 mus/wraps flmezkr flue/(SCH I Ham/7' KacH The invention relates .to a machine for the ballasting of railway tracks which is adapted to run on the track and comprises ballast conveying elements,so-called ballast brushes, which are arranged on driven rotating shafts, the ballast brushes being so' arranged on the machine supporting them that they travel over the ballast situated outside the track on theflanks of the ballast bed.

Various methods of renewing and maintaining tracks fill the bays-.between sleepers or ties by feeding ballast into the grid" composed of sleepers and rails. The ballast is either put directly into the track from transport wagons or ballast is taken from the ballast bed flanks or shoulders.

Machines are already known which by means of plough-like devices convey ballast from the flanks and shoulders of the ballast bed into the track grid. These machines have the disadvantage that considerable masses of ballast must first accumulate in front of the ploughshares or baffle plates before a flow of ballast begins from the ballast flanks towards the center of the track. The accumulated ballast presents a relatively considerable resistance to the onward movement of the machine, and the machine has to apply considerable driving force in order to overcome this resistance.

With unequal loading of the devices situated to right and left of the track, the high resistance to travel results in considerable horizontal reaction forces in the track, which reaction forces must result in shifting of the track, since in the case of a track which has previously been subjected to a packing operation the butt ends of the sleepers are not secured, so that the resistance to lateral displacement of the track is slight. As a result, the longitudinal position of the track is impaired, and it is precisely this which should be obviated. v

Machines for the ballasting of tracks are also known which comprise bucket mechanisms orconveying chains by means of which the ballast is taken from the ballast bed flanks andfirst of all conveyed by means of containers into the track grid. in these machines, n considerable reaction force directed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the rails in fact occurs, but the output of these machines is'small and the mechanical outlay relatively considerable.

Machines are also known (Austrian Pat. specification No. 262,361 and US. Pat. No. 3,005,274) wherein so-called ballast brushes are used for conveying the ballast. But with these machines the ballast is also displaced within the track and conveyancev of ballast from the flank or shoulder of the ballast bed is not possible, so that these machines can be used only if the ballast has previously been introduced into the actual track grid with a transport wagon. This procedure has disadvantages which are obviated already by the known machines previously described.

The invention has its object to provide a machine with which the conveying of ballast from the region of the ballast bed shoulder or flank towards the track grid is possible without incurring the disadvantages of the hitherto known machines.

This object of the invention is achieved in that the ballast brushes are so positioned and their direction of conveyance is so chosen that they convey the ballast 7 from the ballast bed flanks towards and into the track.

It is also proposed that the ballast brush is mounted on a supporting arm which is mounted to be pivotable on the machine about vertical and horizontal axes. The ballast brush is mounted on the supporting arm in a supporting frame which is adapted to be tilted relatively to the supporting arm transversely to the longitudinal axis thereof. This gives the actual ballast brush the possibility of adjustment in every direction, so that as a result it is possible to adapt appropriately to the-shape of the ballast bed shoulder and flank.

. In front of the ballast brush there can be arranged one or more adjustable guide plates with which the ballast can be conducted into specific zones of the track grid or. in front of the butt ends of the sleepers. In the region of the discharge sides of the ballast brushes the rails can be protected by tunnel-like cover plates so that the immediate region of the rails with their fastenings remains free of ballast.

The ballast brushes are driven by hydraulic motors, the rotational speed of which is variable. By varying the tilting angleof the brushes relative to the track, and by adjusting the rotational speed of the hydraulic motors, it is possible to regulate the distance over which and the direction in which the ballast is thrown. Accordingly, it is possible in conjunction with the adjustably constructed guide plates to make the ballast brushes 'con-. vey the ballast into any desired region within the track grid.

The supporting arm on which the ballast brush is secured is preferably telescopically extensible, hydraulic cylinders being provided in order to achieve the necessary tilting, rotating and extending movements of the supporting arm-and supporting frame.

Preferably ballast brushes are provided at both sides of r the track grid, i.e., the machine comprises corresponding supporting arms, supporting frames and ballast brushes at both sides.

One example of embodiment is explained in the following description' with reference to the drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. I 1 shows a, partly perspective view of the machine according to the invention and;

FIG. 2 shows a simplified plan view on to the arrangeme'nt according to the invention.

In FIG. 1, l is the general reference numeral used to designate the machine which is adapted to run by means of appropriate running wheels 2 on the rails 3 and 4. 5 designates the sleepers supporting the rails, the rails 3 and 4 together with the sleepers constituting the so-called track grid.

Mounted on the machine l-are two supporting arms 6 and 7. In the illustrated example of embodiment there are provided for this purpose two pivotable bearings 8 and 9 which are arranged pivotably on the machine frame, the pivoting movement of these bearings being effected by means of the preferably hydraulically operated cylinders 10 and 11 shown in FIG. 2. The supporting arms 6 and 7 are secured by means of horizontal pivot pins 12 and 13 in the pivot bearings 8 and 9, the pivoting movement about these pivot pins 12 and. 13 being adapted to be carried out by hydraulically operated cylinders 14 and 15.

The two illustrated supporting arms 6 and 7 are telescopically extensible, i.e., in the illustrated example of embodiment they consist of the supporting arm parts 6a and 6b, 7a and 7b respectively. The extending movel060ll 01 I3 ment of these two parts is achieved by means of the hydraulically operated cylinders 16 and 17.

At the end of the supporting arms 6 and 7, supporting frames 18 and 1 9 are mounted to be pivotable about the pivot pins 20, the pivoting movement being also brought about by hydraulic cylinders 21 and 22. g

The supporting frames 18 and 19 support the actual ballast brushes 23 and 24 which can be driven by variable speed hydraulicmotors 25 which are only diagram matically illustrated. Y I

" Also shown in FlG. l are guide plates 26 and 27 which are preferably arranged 'adjustably on the machine lfln the region of the discharge from the ballast brushes 23 and 24, tunnel-like cover plates 28 and 29 are arranged in'the region of the actual rails 3 and 4.

Th'eactual ballast conveying elements which are arranged at the ballast brushes'can be formed in a manner known per se of resilient lengths of flexible piping or the like."

. angle of the ballast brushes relatively to the track and by means of the rotational speed of the ballast brushes. in conjunction with the guide plates, the ballast can be kept away from the center of the track, for example, and in conjunction with the cover plates 28 and 29 away from the rails, so that it is possible-by the interplay of the aforesaid means to convey the ballast from any desired position to any desired part of the track grid, and at the same time the desired angular formation can-be produced for the ballast bed flank. Thus, it is-possible with the novel machine not onlyto effect conveyance of ballast but at the same time'the so-called bed cross-section can be profiled to the desired shape.

What is claimed is:

l. A machine for ballasting railroad tracks, comprisa. a wheeled frame adapted for movement on a railroad track;

b. first and second bearing means mounted on the wheeled frame for rotation about a vertical axis;

c. a telescopically extensible support arm mounted on each of the bearing means for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis, the support arms being'disposed to project outwardly and independently on opposite sides of the track;

d. rotatable ballast brushing means pivotally carried by each support arm at its outerend for tilting movement about 'a horizontal axis, each ballast brushing'means constructed and arranged 'to rotatably engage and convey ballast inwardly toward the track; i e. first actuator means for each bearing means for rotating thebearing-means about said vertical axis;

f. second actuator means for each support arm for raising and lowering the support arm about said first named horizontal axis; 7

' g. third actuator means for each support arm for extending and retracting the support arm h. fourth actuator means for each ballast brushing means for variably tilting the brushing means about said second named horizontal axis; i. and variable speed motor means for each ballast brushing means for rotating the brushing means to.

I convey ballast inwardly toward the track. 2. The machine defined by claim 1 wherein the first actuator means comprises a hydraulic actuator operatively connected between the bearing means and'th'e wheeled frame.

3. The machine defined by claim' 1, wherein the second actuator means comprises a hydraulic actuator operatively connected between the bearing means and its associated support means.

4. The machine defined by claim 1, wherein the fourth actuator means comprises a-hydraulic actuator operatively connected between the support arm and the ballast brushing means.

5. The machine defined by claim 1, wherein each ballast brushing means comprises:

a. a supporting frame;

b. and a cylindrical brush rotatably carried by the supporting frame;

c. said motor means being mounted on the supporting frame.

6. The machine defined by claim 1, and further comprising cover plate means carried by the wheeled frame for preventing accumulation of conveyed ballast on said railroad tracks.

7. The machine defined by claim 1; and further comprising means carried by the wheeled frame for guiding conveyed ballast into a predetermined profile. 

1. A machine for ballasting railroad tracks, comprising: a. a wheeled frame adapted for movement on a railroad track; b. first and second bearing means mounted on the wheeled frame for rotation about a vertical axis; c. a telescopically extensible support arm mounted on each of the bearing means for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis, the support arms being disposed to project outwardly and independently on opposite sides of the track; d. rotatable ballast brushing means pivotally carried by each support arm at its outer end for tilting movement about a horizontal axis, each ballast brushing means constructed and arranged to rotatably engage and convey ballast inwardly toward the track; e. first actuator means for each bearing means for rotating the bearing means about said vertical axis; f. second actuator means for each support arm for raising and lowering the support arm about said first named horizontal axis; g. third actuator means for each support arm for extending and retracting the support arm; h. fourth actuator means for each ballast brushing means for variably tilting the brushing means about said second named horizontal axis; i. and variable speed motor means for each ballast brushing means for rotating the brushing means to convey ballast inwardly toward the track.
 2. The machine defined by claim 1 wherein the first actuator means comprises a hydraulic actuator operatively connected between the bearing means and the wheeled frame.
 3. The machine defined by claim 1, wherein the second actuator means comprises a hydraulic actuator operatively connected between the bearing means and its associated support means.
 4. The machine defined by claim 1, wherein the fourth actuator means comprises a hydraulic actuator operatively connected between the support arm and the ballast brushing means.
 5. The machine defined by claim 1, wherein each ballast brushing means comprises: a. a supporting frame; b. and a cylindrical brush rotatably carried by the supporting frame; c. said motor means being mounted on the supporting frame.
 6. The machine defined by claim 1, and further comprising cover plate means carried by the wheeled frame for preventing accumulation of conveyed ballast on said railroad tracks.
 7. The machine defined by claim 1; and further comprising means carried by the wheeled frame for guiding conveyed ballast into a predetermined profile. 